As I prepare to edit my final paper due in less than 24 hours, I ponder one of the points I make.

I tried to think of how I could shape the coverage of the Black Sox scandal before the story broke late in the 1920 season as irresponsible reporting. I decided that not enough investigative reporting was done between the end of the '19 Series and late September 1920. I know all the appropriate actions were eventually taken and nobody involved was likely to say anything to the press, but with a little more digging, perhaps Hugh Fullerton and the other sportswriters in town could have had more than just the rumor mill to work off of during that season. Perhaps then, the story would have broke sooner and thus, the game would have been cleaned up sooner.

I know this wasn't like uncovering a plot to harm President Wilson, but for the sake of honesty in reporting and in baseball, I don't think the public should have waited almost a year for the rumors to become fact. Anyone have thoughts on this?

1) From what I have read, I always found it interesting that during the 1919 Series Joe Jackson informed Comiskey of the fix and he wanted to sit out the rest of the series. If that is true, that should of been brought out by Comiskey. If anything, Comiskey should of told the news media what Jackson told him about the fix.
2) Maybe the news media at the time didn't look to be that interested in the story simply because alot of the baseball games were fixed during that time. There are a number of baseball historians who think the World Series of 1914 and 1918 were fixed. As a matter of fact, the Grand Jury testimony of Eddie Cicotte told of how he thought the Cubs threw the 1918 World Series.

1) From what I have read, I always found it interesting that during the 1919 Series Joe Jackson informed Comiskey of the fix and he wanted to sit out the rest of the series. If that is true, that should of been brought out by Comiskey. If anything, Comiskey should of told the news media what Jackson told him about the fix.
2) Maybe the news media at the time didn't look to be that interested in the story simply because alot of the baseball games were fixed during that time. Thereare a numberofbaseballhistorianswhothinktheWorldSeriesof1914and1918werefixed. As a matter of fact, the Grand Jury testimony of Eddie Cicotte told of how he thought the Cubs threw the 1918 World Series.

Interesting that Eddie Collins was a member of the losing squads in both 1914 and 1919.

Interesting that Eddie Collins was a member of the losing squads in both 1914 and 1919.

The more I ponder that, the more interesting it seems. Eddie Collins was hated by his teammates, not the way Ty Cobb is supposed to have been, but in a rather more disrespectful way. Collins' nickname among his teammates was Cocky. He considered himself superior to his teammates, not just as a baseball player, but as a human being, and in an era when most baseball players weren't very well educated, Collins let them know he considered himself better than them. It's possible a hatred for Collins by the core of a team, could have contributed to a team throwing the World Series behind his back even if the feelings didn't serve as a catalyst.

As for the news coverage and the quality of journalism relating to the 1919 World Series, that subject is covered at great length in my favorite book about the scandal, a novel by Harry Stein called Hoopla that came out about 30 years ago. The story is told in alternating chapters from the perspective of Buck Weaver, beginning with his rookie year with the White Sox, and a fictitious Hearst reporter, from his coverage of the Johnson-Jeffries fight in 1910. It's a great, sometimes funny read, raising questions about journalism, sports and America as it was a century ago. I'm surprised the book didn't generate more attention.

I have always gotten the impression that Hugh Fullerton and Ring Lardner knew about the conspiracy to throw the series. Lardner was a huge White Sox fan, and I think the episode marks a sort of loss of innocence for him, as he would go on to raise a son who would write the subversive screenplay for M*A*S*H after being blacklisted by Hollywood. But I digress. In one of the extras to the anniversary release of Eight Men Out (the one that has D.B Sweeney telling the story of Paul Konerko and bat from the movie and the role it played in the 2005 World Series) John Sayles talks about the scandal as being a sort of loss of false innocence for the country, there being no real foundation for such innocence.

I have always gotten the impression that Hugh Fullerton and Ring Lardner knew about the conspiracy to throw the series. Lardner was a huge White Sox fan, and I think the episode marks a sort of loss of innocence for him, as he would go on to raise a son who would write the subversive screenplay for M*A*S*H after being blacklisted by Hollywood. But I digress. In one of the extras to the anniversary release of Eight Men Out (the one that has D.B Sweeney telling the story of Paul Konerko and bat from the movie and the role it played in the 2005 World Series) John Sayles talks about the scandal as being a sort of loss of false innocence for the country, there being no real foundation for such innocence.

Actually, I have read that Lardner was Fullerton's colleague in the movie only. In real life, Christy Mathewson, the former pitcher, was the one besides Fullerton in the press box.